An abandoned pig was found wandering the streets of Leicester after his owners dumped him for getting too big.

Eight-month-old Percy, who was found by policemen out on patrol, was left malnourished and suffering from an infectious skin condition on New Year's Day.

The piglet was taken in by stunned RSPCA staff who discovered that he refused to eat normal pig food and was malnourished after being fed sandwiches by his former owners.

Eight-month-old Percy is now living in an RSPCA centre in Leicester. The staff there are attempting to nurse him back to health

Percy turned his nose up at fruit and veg when staff tried to bring his weight up to normal, as the only food he would eat was bread.

He is now being cared for at the Woodside RSPCA centre in Braunstone.

Carrie Stoker, Animal Centre Supervisor at the RSPCA'S Leicester centre, said: 'Poor Percy was not in a good way when he was found, he'd obviously been kept by someone who had no idea how to look after a pig.

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'He wasn't in a good state, and unfortunately the only thing he would eat was bread so we can only assume the only food he's ever been fed is sandwiches.

'I've never seen a pig abandoned on the
street before, it is unbelievably cruel, especially on New Years Day
when the streets were busy, fireworks were going offand he would have been very frightened.'

Staff believe Percy is a Vietnamese pig, which are regularly used by breeders to farm 'micro pigs'

Percy (left) is a much happier pig now that he lives in the Woodside RSPCA centre being treated by Crissy Noble (right)

Percy is the latest micro-pig to be abandoned after his owners found he grew too large

RSPCA staff have found that Percy will only eat bread, showing that his owners did not know how to feed and care for a pig properly

Ms Stoker added: 'He isn't tagged as a farm animal would be, so we think he has been kept in someone's home as a micro pig.

He's at the age when they just start maturing and becoming a bit more aggressive and getting a lot bigger and it looks like someone has just thrown him out on the street.

'Percy is such a lovely boy. We are working on getting him back to full health and then finding him a knowledgeable home where he can roam around outside at his heart's content.'

Micro pigs became fashionable after a series of celebrities, such as Paris Hilton, Charlotte Church and the Beckham's, bought them as pets.

But experts warn that pigs are not easy animals to look
after, they will tear up a garden, and they have to have things to chew
on to wear down their teeth.

When the tiny piglets grow bigger than their owners were warned, they often end up being handed in to animal rescue centres.

Another abandoned piglet named Dr Pork Chop was found sheltering from the snow in a bucket using a pair of old jeans as a blanket near Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset.

A piglet named Dr Pork Chop was found sleeping in a bucket sheltering from the snow under a pair of old jeans near Weston-Super-Mare

Dr Pork Chop, pictured with carer Kayleigh Macleod, is now being cared for by charity Horse World in Bristol

An elderly lady raised the alarm after spotting the three-month-old pig in a field living on scraps.

He was also found underweight, malnourished and suffering from a skin condition but has been taken to re-homing charity Horse World in Bristol to be nursed back to health.

Ms Stoker said: 'People are breeding 'micro' pigs following a surge in demand after people see them on the telly, and watch reality stars carrying them about in their handbags.

'But often, all they do is breed the runts of the litter with each other, so it's genetically likely their offspring will be small, but you never know how big they will grow until they're about a year old.

'We'd really encourage people to think twice before taking on any pet, but especially an unusual animal like a pig. They need a lot of looking after.'